Ireland has one of the highest digital literacy rates in Europe, according to the European Union’s statistical office Eurostat.
The 2024 edition of the report records that most of us now use internet banking and shop online, at a higher rate than most other countries.
All 16-24-year-olds in Ireland bought goods and services online, while 94.9% of those in the 25-64 age group and 73.5% of those in the 65-74 age group also bought theirs online, in 2023.
We were also among the biggest users of internet banking, with 89.8% of us using it, ahead of bigger countries like France, Germany, and Spain.
Ireland also has one of the highest percentages of people using the internet to get information on services and send emails.
We are also the second biggest users of smartwatches and other wearable tech in the EU.
Ireland is also ahead of EU averages for internet-connected energy management solutions, and we are also the second-highest users of internet-connected home entertainment.
Overall, however, there are varying degrees of digital literacy, with small to medium enterprises (SMEs) lagging behind big business.
For example, across the EU just 59% of all EU businesses reached a basic level of digital intensity.
The share for SMEs was 58%, around 30 percentage points below the EU 2030 target, while for large businesses it stood at 91%.
Large businesses had a bigger share for very high (26%) and high digital intensity (42%) compared with only 4% of SMEs with a very high level and nearly 20% with a high level of digital intensity.
Most of the SMEs recorded low (34%) or very low (42%) digital intensity levels.
In 2023, 45% of businesses in the EU bought cloud computing services, with large businesses more likely to opt for cloud solutions compared with SMEs.
Some 91% of people in the EU reported that they had used the internet in the previous 3 months when surveyed in 2023.
The internet was mainly used to communicate with others, for example for sending or receiving e-mails (86% of internet users) and instant messaging (82%).
Some 75% of us also used it for making phone or video calls, 70% relied on it to find information about goods and services and 70% of us do our banking online.
The report noted some 75% of people in the EU bought or ordered goods or services online last year, up from 57% in 2013.
The share of internet users who bought goods or services online in 2023 ranged from 54% in Bulgaria and 55% in Romania to 93% in both the Netherlands and Ireland.
